December 19, 2013

Callahan says Cowboys came out throwing in second series of second half because they were pinned deep

Offensive coordinator Bill Callahan said one of the reasons the Cowboys came out throwing with their second possession of the half is because they were backed up.

The possession, with the Cowboys leading 29-17, started at their 15-yard line with 1:04 to go in the third quarter after Terrance Williams returned it from 9 yards deep in the end zone.

“The second drive, I thought, we took a chance, backed up a little bit, try to come out of the hole, threw three passes in that scenario, and it didn’t work out,” Callahan said. “When you call a game like that and try to be a little more forward in your thinking and trying to get guys in different positions and targeting different players for coverage reasons, it didn’t work out. That’s all I can tell you. Then we got into that third and fourth series of the second half and before you knew it, you’re in the fourth quarter.”

The Cowboys ran only seven times in the second half as a 26-3 lead became a 37-36 loss. Murray ran four times on the opening drive of the half, which led to a field goal. But in that second series from the 15, the Cowboys went three-and-out on three passes.

“That kinda hurt us,” Callahan said. “Then we got into our third series, and it was kind of a nip-and-tuck game at that point. We continue to feed our running backs, we love the running game and we’ll continue to feature it and improve it. Yeah, we can always do a better job on it.”